Foreign Office 'not pressing' Israelis for Miller inquiry

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has attacked the Foreign Office for not taking seriously the campaign for a criminal investigation into his fatal shooting by an Israeli soldier.

John Miller, who is running the Justice For James Miller campaign, said the Foreign Office had been unforthcoming ever since news of the death was broken to the family.

The first contact between the ministry and Miller’s widow Sophy was not until five days after the shooting.

Miller said he felt from the outset “that they were just going through the motions of asking the Israeli Government for a transparent inquiry. What they didn’t do was insist on it.”

He added that the Foreign Office should have seen the Israelis’ reluctance to conduct a full, criminal investigation as “a slap in the face”.

“I’m surprised by our Government’s reaction, as the Israelis moved from a field inquiry directly to a military police inquiry. The Foreign Office is bringing no pressure to bear at all, unless we in turn press them. We only get a report when we insist on getting a report.”

The Miller family insists on a criminal inquiry because, according to John, “the soldier took 13 seconds to decide whether or not to kill my brother”.

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Miller said broadcasters had helped to press for the criminal investigation.

Two weeks ago, an edition of BBC Two’s Correspondent, fronted by John Sweeney, examined the shooting.

“Channel 4 and ITN have also been incredibly helpful,” Miller added.

A number of other television programmes on James Miller are in the pipeline from Carlton TV, the Discovery Channel and, in the US, CBS News’s 60 Minutes.